The footsteps drew nearer still and just as William had predicted, Johnson was now inspecting the cubicles. The cubicle they were in was the most conspicuous, because it was the only one that was closed. Johnson would definitely stop in front of their cubicle. And no sooner than William thought this, a shadow and a pair of sneakers appeared under the cubicle’s door; Johnson was right in front of them.
There was a pregnant pause as the bathroom regained its eerie silence. John was starting to shake, and William was afraid the younger boy would crack up and start screaming. Just then he noticed the shadow change and thicken. It seemed that Johnson was trying to look under the cubicle door, just as William thought he would. And just as he planned, all Johnson would see were his shoes and his pants around his ankles, making it seem like he was doing his business, and more importantly, alone.
Summoning his best impersonation of Batman’s voice in the Dark Knight Rises, if only a bit more comprehensible, William said, “Bugger off, dude! I’m taking a dump!” He prayed as hard has he could that Johnson would not recognize his voice and that this whole charade would actually work.
A few seconds later, the shadow disappeared as they heard the footsteps heading back towards the hallway. Johnson had left.
After making sure the coast was clear, William put his pants back on and together with John, left the bathroom in haste.
“That…was too close!” William exclaimed. Despite his great anxiety, he felt elated, he felt as though he were an elite secret agent that just outwitted his arch enemy.
“Darn right it was, Will! You…you bitch! I told you someone might come in!” John said in an annoyed tone. He promptly elbowed William with as much force as he could muster, but ended up hitting William’s hard elbow joint, which caused both boys considerable pain. After exchanging a grimace, they both giggled.
William looked behind just to make sure that Johnson wasn’t still there. He saw the boy in question walking the opposite direction, his back turned to them some distance away. William breathed a long sigh of relief, but at the last moment, he snapped his head back to look behind him again. He could have sworn that, in the instant he turned his gaze away from Johnson’s back the other boy looked back his way and gave him an overly suspicious look.
*******
After school, John had to leave early again because he had to see his grandfather off at the airport with his family. William was still in a cheery mood, reliving their bathroom adventure (and subsequent near discovery) that he felt like staying at school a bit longer. He had the urge to go out and have some fun, maybe go to the arcade or eat out somewhere, none of which he’d be able to do if he went home.
“I suppose I could always play some games…” William thought out loud. He had his PS3 and his PC at home, and he could always go and play Dragon Sorcerer Kingdom Wars…but for some reason he didn’t feel like doing any of those. While they were fun to play, William wanted something more, something different. To be precise, merely playing those games seemed rather lonely. Ever since he and John discovered the wonders of mutual pleasure, he had longed for more interpersonal encounters; he wanted to hang out with people in person. To head home was to enter a state of solitude, since he couldn’t talk to anyone there, least of all his ever-busy parents. It was too much of a nice Friday afternoon to be wasted alone.
William walked around the school grounds, settling on the parking lot, where there was a shed where the students could sit and wait for their rides home. He watched as the multitude of students rushed to get to their respective school buses and cars, no doubt excited for the weekend. William instinctively tried to hide himself from view when he saw Johnson Masters among that crowd. The other boy seemed to be looking for his ride home, which had evidently not yet arrived. This was the only chance William had to look at Johnson from afar. It didn’t take one to be friends to recognize the sulky expression on Johnson’s face. William was sure that while Johnson was perpetually sulky, his face wasn’t that sour when they chanced upon each other in the halls earlier. He briefly entertained the thought of finally talking to Johnson just as he had promised Carl, if only to have something to do. Just then, a car pulled up near the boy and a plump-looking woman waved at Johnson from the passenger side window. William took it as a divine sign that their talk would have to wait.
“You seem quite lonely here.” said a voice beside William. He was momentarily startled when he realized that Peter McMahon was already sitting beside him.
“Oh, hey! When did you…?”
“Just now. You were kind of sitting alone and looking lonely. You were staring at Johnson a lot too.”
“You know him?” John asked in surprise.
“Oh, erm, not… personally. I know him because…uhm, I heard he’s one of the smartest in your grade, that’s all.” Peter replied, suddenly looking at the floor.
“Okaaay…?” William didn’t sound convinced.
“Well, I…I need to know stuff like that cuz I’m in the school paper.” Peter replied with a bit more confidence, this time looking at William again.
“I didn’t know you were in the paper…”
“I must have forgotten to mention it. But then, we’ve only met like two times before, right?” Peter said with a grin. “I’m nothing important there, mind. I’m just one of the assistant photographers.”
“Wow, you’re already a swimmer, and you’re also photographer? I wish I had that many talents.” William said in admiration.
“Oh, it’s not as easy and glamorous you know. Swimming’s hard work and I’m serious about not being much in the school paper. It’s only good for one little perk, actually.”
“Oh, what’s that?”
“I have a legitimate reason to stalk people!” Peter proudly exclaimed with a roguish wink.
“You bastard!” William retorted jokingly. He had to admit that in its own way, stalking people as a job sounded cool, if a bit naughty. He couldn’t help but giggle at the idea.
“So, why are you sitting all alone here on a Friday when you can do just about anything else?” asked Peter.
“Well, I dunno. I mean, I want to do something but I don’t have anything to do and well, no one to do anything with. John’s left early and well it’s almost like I feel lost if he’s not around. Funny, eh?” William mused.
“John’s your best friend, right?”
“How’d you know?” William was steadily noticing how Peter seemed to know a lot of things that he wasn’t normally supposed to.
“Oh, nothing…Well, uh… Well, it’s just the way you talked about him. I know that feeling. I had a friend like that too.” Peter said a bit awkwardly. William noticed he said ‘had’ instead of ‘have’. He chose not to make the older boy elaborate.
“Why don’t you go home then? You told me before you’re a gamer, right? Since it’s Friday you can go knock yourself out and play as much as you want!” Peter continued.
“Well, yeah I could…but nobody’s home right now. Both my mom and dad are still out and they won’t be back till like, eleven. I’d just be bummed out at home.” As William said this, he looked at Peter and could have sworn that for a second, his face froze with a weird expression around the time he said “nobody’s home”. After he blinked though, Peter’s face was as normal as ever. Apparently William had just imagined it.